Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell has put Seattle City Council on notice to clean up crime in and around homeless encampments. This week, Harrell said new data directly connects encampments with a growing number of shootings and fires.
Harrell says he now hopes to change the conversation with Seattle City Council and push for policy changes.
Homeless encampments continue to concern people who live and work in Seattle.
Business owner Shana Hicks says camps like the one previously near Dexter Avenue and Mercer Street in Seattle have led to an alarming spike in crime including shootings and stabbings.
Hicks says homeless campers did nearly $15,000 in damage to her business, saying they tried to break into her store at least 10 times.
She’s relieved that camp has been cleared away. But many other camps still remain.
Harrell revealed that new numbers shared Thursday show a drastic increase in shootings and fires connected with Seattle homeless camps.
According to Seattle Police, in the first part of this year, more than 42 percent of the shooting calls they received were linked to encampments. Harrell says the data calls for policy changes.
When his office prepares for the budget, the mayor says he’ll give city council reason to take urgent action with long-term results in mind.
“There’s a difference between a public safety strategy and a homelessness strategy and there are overlapping circles in that approach,” said Harrell. “But for us is going to be about sustainability. Looking at the resources, looking at all the assets of the city.”
“It’s going to take a lot of work and some new fresh ideas and I hope he’s got it,” said Hicks.
KOMO News is waiting to hear more specific details about the Mayor’s plan to deal with homeless camps in Seattle.
The Mayor says he’s working to share a public dashboard soon that will lay out specific metrics about the city’s efforts to address homelessness. He’s also pushing to hire more police officers.
On Friday, the Mayor’s office shared a statement stating, “The City has made over 300 referrals to shelter and removed 30 encampments. Mayor Harrell believes the city must maintain and restore sidewalks, streets, parks, and playfields; public spaces should be clear and safe for use by all as intended.”
KOMO News reached out to Seattle City Council and asked them about the Mayor’s policy change push regarding homeless encampments.
“Right now, I have an encampment that’s growing in the Interbay neighborhood,” said Councilmember Andrew Lewis. Lewis said the new data about crime connected to the encampments isn’t surprising.
As for the mayor’s plans to take more urgent action on homeless encampments, Lewis said, “I think that Mayor Harrell is largely in agreement. He campaigned on creating 2,000 shelter spaces for people to live in so they don’t only have encampments as a place to live.”
Lewis went on to say, “We want to make sure that people instead of getting displaced and camping in other places, they are going to live in tiny house village or Just Care Village or someplace like that. That’s what we are working on.”
